0:00:07 > 0:00:11Loved and loathed in equal measure, caravans have captured the hearts
0:00:11 > 0:00:15of British holiday-makers for over 50 years.
0:00:18 > 0:00:23I think the caravan really pioneers this idea of the individual family,
0:00:23 > 0:00:28carrying its house on its back and having its own possessions with it.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30And, of course, this is all part of a wider ideal
0:00:30 > 0:00:33of being independent in your travel and on holiday.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37It bonded you together.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41You were one, not four. You became one.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47And not only that, we liked to move around, we liked to tour round.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50We liked to see what was round the next corner.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Once the plaything of a privileged minority,
0:00:56 > 0:00:59from the 1950s, caravans were to become a firm favourite
0:00:59 > 0:01:03with almost a quarter of British holiday-makers.
0:01:05 > 0:01:06For enthusiasts,
0:01:06 > 0:01:11they provided independence and the freedom of the open road.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14The chance to explore hidden corners of Britain and abroad,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17while keeping their home comforts in tow.
0:01:17 > 0:01:22My thinking was, "Look here, you spend your life
0:01:22 > 0:01:25"at the kitchen sink and the kitchen cooker at home,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28"when you come on holiday you want to get away from it!"
0:01:30 > 0:01:36There are more ways to women's lib than burning your bra.
0:01:36 > 0:01:42My escape from the kitchen sink lay in the open road,
0:01:42 > 0:01:46towing a caravan behind the family car.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52This is the story of our love affair with these homes on wheels.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55One that saw Britain establish the largest caravan
0:01:55 > 0:01:57manufacturer in the world.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03And a love affair that was to transform the holiday habits
0:02:03 > 0:02:06of generations of British families.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12Caravanning has enabled us to visit places
0:02:12 > 0:02:17we would never have visited if we hadn't got a caravan.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21We've met people we would never have met if we hadn't got a caravan.
0:02:21 > 0:02:26And the common thing about it is, we all share a love of caravanning.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44For millions of British people today, caravanning is a way of life.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48But that was not the case in the 1920s and '30s.
0:02:52 > 0:02:58Made out of solid wood, caravans then were heavy, slow and expensive.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Hitching up and heading out to the countryside
0:03:04 > 0:03:07was not a pastime for the ordinary British family.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11# It's a hap-hap-happy day toodle-oodle-oodle-oodle-oodle-ay
0:03:11 > 0:03:16# For you and me, for us and we all the clouds have rolled away... #
0:03:16 > 0:03:20Caravanning before World War II is a very minority pursuit.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23It grows originally out of romanticising the gypsy caravan,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26life on the open road and clip-clopping along
0:03:26 > 0:03:31in remote parts of Britain and Ireland from the late 19th Century.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40The Caravan Club is founded at the beginning of the 20th Century.
0:03:40 > 0:03:45It never really gets beyond a couple of hundred rather posh members.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49So, caravanning is really very small-scale and...
0:03:49 > 0:03:52I think quite eccentric before World War II.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03I think in the '30s, caravanning was quite middle class.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05Gentlemen gypsies was the phrase.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09It was people with a big car - you had to have a big car to pull it.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13You probably had to have some friends with land where you could pull it to.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17A completely different image to the one portrayed in caravans today.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40For many of today's enthusiasts, the enduring appeal of caravanning
0:04:40 > 0:04:44is still the opportunity to travel and explore.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48One woman who's taken full advantage of this
0:04:48 > 0:04:51is Dorrie Van Lachterop from the West Midlands,
0:04:51 > 0:04:54who's been caravanning for over 50 years.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02Oh, I've seen things and done things that I would never have done
0:05:02 > 0:05:04if I hadn't have had a caravan.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10We obviously like it when it's dry and sunny, but...
0:05:10 > 0:05:14I've caravanned so much in the wet, Scotland in particular,
0:05:14 > 0:05:18you know...that you get used to it, I suppose.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24I've been to Belgium, Holland, France,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy,
0:05:28 > 0:05:31the old Yugoslavia...
0:05:31 > 0:05:33I can never think of it any other way.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36When they say Croatia, I think, where the hell's that?
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Yugoslavia to Greece.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41Went down as far as Sparta, in Greece...
0:05:41 > 0:05:45Had adventures there. Well, I've had adventures all over the place.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51But for Dorrie, it was not just a thirst for adventure
0:05:51 > 0:05:55that prompted her interest in caravanning.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57Unfortunate family circumstances
0:05:57 > 0:06:00also lay behind her decision to take to the road.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08My husband was diabetic.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11My little boy had got bronchial asthma.
0:06:11 > 0:06:17So it was more convenient for us to be independent.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21And we hired and we liked it.
0:06:21 > 0:06:26And so we bought our own in 1955, we bought our own caravan.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29And I've had a caravan ever since.
0:06:33 > 0:06:38The fresh air obviously helped my son with his chest.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40It also relaxed my husband.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44He had a very stressful job,
0:06:44 > 0:06:45so he would be relaxed.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Careful!
0:06:57 > 0:07:00There we are. Come here. Good girl.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03She does very well, doesn't she, for a blind dog.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05'Every weekend we went off somewhere.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09'For holidays, we would go to Scotland.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12'We liked the wild parts of Scotland.'
0:07:13 > 0:07:18You could pull in along a loch, pull in by the river,
0:07:18 > 0:07:22and we've even spent the night on top of Glen Coe,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25as it was then. Very scary.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28The dog wouldn't go out, which was rather worrying.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32And we also, on one occasion, spent the night at Stonehenge,
0:07:32 > 0:07:36before it was all fenced in, which I believe it is now.
0:07:36 > 0:07:41And the dog and the cat refused to go out there.
0:07:45 > 0:07:50The freedom that the caravan gave Dorrie and her family in the 1950s,
0:07:50 > 0:07:52to travel around the country,
0:07:52 > 0:07:55and even spend the night at a landmark like Stonehenge,
0:07:55 > 0:07:58was a far cry from what was available
0:07:58 > 0:08:00to most British holiday-makers
0:08:00 > 0:08:02during the previous decades.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11If you're a family from Wolverhampton,
0:08:11 > 0:08:14then your holiday is that you go to a resort,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17you probably go to the same resort every year.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19You probably go to the same boarding house every year,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22or the same little hotel, with very regimented meal times,
0:08:22 > 0:08:26and there's no surprise, no possible element of difference
0:08:26 > 0:08:29in your holiday from one year to the next.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36The year in, year out routine of the traditional British holiday
0:08:36 > 0:08:40stemmed from people's inability to travel independently.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42At a time when only the privileged few
0:08:42 > 0:08:45had access to a car, most holiday-makers
0:08:45 > 0:08:50could only go away when and where public transport would take them.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56The standard seaside holiday for almost everybody
0:08:56 > 0:08:59involved going to a particular resort,
0:08:59 > 0:09:04by train still for most people, right up to the 1930s.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06And staying for a week or a fortnight, or,
0:09:06 > 0:09:11if you were sufficiently well off, longer, in a hotel or boarding house.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20If you were staying in a seaside boarding house,
0:09:20 > 0:09:23they were so crowded and they had so few amenities,
0:09:23 > 0:09:28that landladies, in self-defence, had to be like dragons
0:09:28 > 0:09:31and send people out just after breakfast.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34It was rare to be allowed back in again, except at meal times,
0:09:34 > 0:09:35until the evening.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48The traditions of the seaside holiday remained largely unchanged
0:09:48 > 0:09:52until the Second World War when holidays came to a stop.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55AIR-RAID SIREN WAILS
0:09:58 > 0:10:00So too did the production of caravans,
0:10:00 > 0:10:03as their factories were used to support the war effort.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08Those caravans already on the road
0:10:08 > 0:10:12were put to use as ambulances and emergency accommodation.
0:10:12 > 0:10:13But after the war,
0:10:13 > 0:10:17the caravan industry was to find a new lease of life,
0:10:17 > 0:10:21and eventually, a new generation of British enthusiasts
0:10:21 > 0:10:24eager to explore the country.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28You can't take children to see York or Bath,
0:10:28 > 0:10:33or to go Longleat or somewhere like that, in a day.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37So if you're gonna take them around -
0:10:37 > 0:10:40and I wanted to show them this country, because, to be honest,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43England is a fantastic country. It's got wonderful scenery,
0:10:43 > 0:10:47and it's got a history going back thousands of years,
0:10:47 > 0:10:49all in a tiny island.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55For Douglas, the touring caravan may have provided an ideal way
0:10:55 > 0:10:58to show his children the beauty and history of England.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03But his early experiences of caravanning
0:11:03 > 0:11:05were not very encouraging.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11One day I was a publicity manager for a company.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15I had to go to Bournemouth with the account exec.
0:11:15 > 0:11:20So we're going down there and we suddenly got behind a caravan.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22And I won't use the language I used,
0:11:22 > 0:11:25but I swore at this caravan holding me up on the road.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30My friend who was driving said,
0:11:30 > 0:11:34"If you say anything more about caravans like that,
0:11:34 > 0:11:38"I'll stop this car and you can get out and walk to Bournemouth,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40"because I'm a caravanner."
0:11:42 > 0:11:45By the time we got to Bournemouth, I'd been converted.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50So I started to read Practical Caravan,
0:11:50 > 0:11:52carried on talking to my friend,
0:11:52 > 0:11:56and I said to him one day, "I think I'm gonna buy a caravan,
0:11:56 > 0:11:58"what do you think I should get? " And he said,
0:11:58 > 0:12:02"Buy a Sprite." He said, "If you don't like caravanning
0:12:02 > 0:12:04"you can sell it, because it's so popular.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07"If you do like it and you need spares,
0:12:07 > 0:12:09"you're never far from a dealer."
0:12:12 > 0:12:17On his recommendation I bought a second-hand Sprite Major. Fantastic.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22The Sprite caravan was the creation
0:12:22 > 0:12:24of a young engineer from North London,
0:12:24 > 0:12:28who had developed his skills in the Navy during the Second World War.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31His name was Sam Alper.
0:12:31 > 0:12:36But he was to become known as the King of Caravans.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41Sam Alper decided just after the Second World War
0:12:41 > 0:12:44that there was a market for caravans.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48Now I think his first caravans were timber-framed.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51I think they had hardboard sides,
0:12:51 > 0:12:54because, of course, materials were difficult to get to.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01He brought caravans to the masses.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05He was the Henry Ford of the caravan industry.
0:13:05 > 0:13:06The Model T Ford,
0:13:06 > 0:13:10think of Sam Alper's Sprite, because that's what they were.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20I wonder how Sam managed to fit so much into his life.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23He was incredibly strong man.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25And I don't just mean physically.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27He had great inner strength.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29He never wasted time.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31He was very disciplined.
0:13:31 > 0:13:36And I'm just amazed how much he achieved.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39But although Sam was to become the driving force
0:13:39 > 0:13:41behind a caravan empire,
0:13:41 > 0:13:42it was another family member
0:13:42 > 0:13:46who had first spotted the business opportunity.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51Actually it was his brother, Henry,
0:13:51 > 0:13:56who started making the caravans in Stratford in East London.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59He decided to go on and do other things,
0:13:59 > 0:14:03and Sam decided to take the caravan business on.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06I think he could see that he could make something out of it.
0:14:08 > 0:14:13I think I quite like... I quite like that one actually.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19He actually trained as an electrical engineer.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22So he had that engineering background.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24And he had a great eye for design.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28He was so creative. And designing a caravan is a real challenge.
0:14:28 > 0:14:34You're putting literally a whole house in 12 ft by 9 ft or something.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37So I think it was that design challenge.
0:14:37 > 0:14:42It covered a lot of things he was interested in, like the engineering.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45So... So it was a challenge.
0:14:45 > 0:14:46He just loved a challenge.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49But an enjoyable challenge.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54The biggest challenge for Sam
0:14:54 > 0:14:56was to produce a caravan that was affordable
0:14:56 > 0:14:59in the burgeoning consumer society.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Up until now, caravans had been hand-built,
0:15:05 > 0:15:08and far beyond the means of most families.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13But at his new factory in Newmarket,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16Sam set about transforming the caravan industry.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24Sam was a visionary, really, and a definite entrepreneur.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31He put the question out - what would be a good caravan to sell?
0:15:31 > 0:15:34What can we do to make a caravan more affordable?
0:15:38 > 0:15:41Of course, the answer kept coming back to him, and that was...
0:15:41 > 0:15:43A cheap caravan.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46But it can't be done, Sam, because cheap means cheap build.
0:15:49 > 0:15:54So Sam went back, came up with his first design, the Sprite,
0:15:54 > 0:15:56a little 11-footer. He took it out.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58People were quite impressed.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03But people said, "well, for that sort of money, £230, it's gonna break".
0:16:07 > 0:16:11But Sam was determined to prove the doubters wrong, and in 1948,
0:16:11 > 0:16:14aged just 24, he came up with a formula
0:16:14 > 0:16:16for the modern British caravan.
0:16:18 > 0:16:23And in doing so, he was to draw on his experiences during the war.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30It was built on Spitfire wheels.
0:16:31 > 0:16:37The main body construction was panels of plastic...
0:16:37 > 0:16:39a double-walled plastic called Holoplast.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46It was a cheap caravan.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50I have a feeling that the first one cost £199.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00When the average price of a tourer was,
0:17:00 > 0:17:02if I remember rightly, £300-£400,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05there was this nasty fellow
0:17:05 > 0:17:09turning out this cheap tat, you see? It can't be any good.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15To convince caravan dealers and the public that his Sprite
0:17:15 > 0:17:20was anything but cheap tat, Sam decided to take it on the road -
0:17:20 > 0:17:22on a 10,000 mile trip
0:17:22 > 0:17:27across some of the roughest terrain in southern Europe and North Africa.
0:17:29 > 0:17:34The Mediterranean trip had, I think...two objectives.
0:17:34 > 0:17:40One, to show that a caravan could withstand rough conditions,
0:17:40 > 0:17:44and they were rough in those days.
0:17:44 > 0:17:50But also, if he could get it round 10,000 miles in 30 days
0:17:50 > 0:17:56or something like that, it must be a fair proof of performance.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03I came to be on the trip
0:18:03 > 0:18:07because I was associate editor of the leading caravan magazine.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11I just thought it was a jolly good trip! I looked forward to this.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Six weeks away from the office!
0:18:20 > 0:18:25Once we'd got into Arab-populated country,
0:18:25 > 0:18:27oh, they're all swarming around wanting to see!
0:18:29 > 0:18:32Nobody had ever seen a thing like this before.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39With his unlikely publicity stunt, Sam had proved his point.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42If the mighty Sprite could take on a 10,000-mile trip
0:18:42 > 0:18:44around the Mediterranean,
0:18:44 > 0:18:48it could certainly handle a two-week holiday in the British countryside.
0:18:50 > 0:18:56There was worldwide publicity, and above all,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Sam saw it as a great selling opportunity
0:18:59 > 0:19:02for a salesmen at the caravan dealers'.
0:19:02 > 0:19:03"Yes, madam. Do you realise
0:19:03 > 0:19:07"this caravan has done 10,000 miles round the Med?"
0:19:07 > 0:19:08A confidence builder.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11And so it was a great success, great success.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14People went on talking about this for a long time.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22With his Sprite now rolling off the production line,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25Sam Alper had created a touring caravan
0:19:25 > 0:19:28that appealed to a new generation of consumers.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32And for first-time buyers like Christine Fagg from Hertfordshire,
0:19:32 > 0:19:36it opened the way to a new kind of family holiday.
0:19:36 > 0:19:43This is my little Sprite, and I simply adored it, of course,
0:19:43 > 0:19:45and went everywhere in it.
0:19:47 > 0:19:54I wanted to take a holiday where the children would be free...
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Don't photograph the bash. It wasn't me!
0:19:57 > 0:20:02'..and where we were not tied to meal times or a landlady'
0:20:02 > 0:20:05who was going to be madly obsessive about them coming in
0:20:05 > 0:20:08without changing their shoes, and all that sort of thing.
0:20:11 > 0:20:17I saw a few caravans in my travels on fields as I drove around,
0:20:17 > 0:20:21and I thought, "Why not have a caravan?
0:20:21 > 0:20:24"Surely that would be the thing to do."
0:20:24 > 0:20:28And so that's really the very first intimation
0:20:28 > 0:20:33that I was going to have a caravan and spend a lot of time.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36Right, it's OK...
0:20:38 > 0:20:41'What I loved about caravanning was that it was...
0:20:41 > 0:20:44'there was such variety.'
0:20:44 > 0:20:48One didn't have to stick in one place.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51One could go to the coast and enjoy the sea
0:20:51 > 0:20:55and then when you were tired of that or it was raining,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58you could go inland to beautiful forests,
0:20:58 > 0:21:02go by lakes, by rivers.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06There is nothing to compare, really, I think!
0:21:13 > 0:21:15You really want that one lit, don't you?
0:21:17 > 0:21:21'Of course, I did always cook in my caravan,
0:21:21 > 0:21:25'so I didn't escape from cooking and washing up!
0:21:25 > 0:21:26'That had to go on.'
0:21:26 > 0:21:31But somehow, doing it in my caravan
0:21:31 > 0:21:34was never a chore like it is at home.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40For Christine, caravanning gave her the chance to escape,
0:21:40 > 0:21:42not only the monotony of some of her housework,
0:21:42 > 0:21:47but also the opportunity to explore the countryside on her own.
0:21:50 > 0:21:55'My husband was a maniacal sailor, and, of course,'
0:21:55 > 0:21:58I tried to go with him and be a dutiful wife,
0:21:58 > 0:22:02but I was always bored, sick or terrified.
0:22:02 > 0:22:07So that's how it was I came to have a caravan,
0:22:07 > 0:22:11tow it, and take the younger children on it.
0:22:12 > 0:22:17If you are caravanning as a woman on your own,
0:22:17 > 0:22:23everybody would stare at me as I towed my caravan onto a site,
0:22:23 > 0:22:27because, of course, they were all in pairs.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30And amazingly, they didn't like it.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34They were uneasy, because it was unheard of.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37And I think it's pretty rare even today.
0:22:37 > 0:22:42But I had my two youngest children, and I just...
0:22:42 > 0:22:45had to accept things as they were.
0:22:50 > 0:22:56But I'm so glad I did it, because we had wonderful times.
0:23:01 > 0:23:07In the 1950s, more and more people seemed to be having wonderful times.
0:23:07 > 0:23:08Legislation had given them,
0:23:08 > 0:23:11not only more time away from the factory and office,
0:23:11 > 0:23:16but also greater flexibility to choose when they would go.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20There was a new sense of freedom for people, and not least
0:23:20 > 0:23:24for the growing numbers no longer dependent on public transport.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32Car ownership is shooting up in the '50s.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34In the 1920s, 1930s,
0:23:34 > 0:23:38nowhere near the majority of the population had cars.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40What you get in the '50s and '60s,
0:23:40 > 0:23:43it's this absolute explosion in terms of car ownership.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49Which means, of course, there's lots of pressure on the roads.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51Huge road-building schemes, you get motorways.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54All of these things which follow on the kind of...
0:23:54 > 0:23:56the car boom, I guess, of the '50s.
0:24:12 > 0:24:13Places like Cornwall,
0:24:13 > 0:24:17the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, places that are rural,
0:24:17 > 0:24:20actually seen then as backward and a long way from cities,
0:24:20 > 0:24:22they're kind of undiscovered.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31And what you get in the '50s and '60s is that for the first time
0:24:31 > 0:24:33these places are being opened up by roads and by caravans,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36so you get this boom in places like the Lake District.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40You start getting reports in '50s newspapers about traffic jams
0:24:40 > 0:24:41as all these caravanners
0:24:41 > 0:24:44descend on the Lake District for a bank holiday weekend,
0:24:44 > 0:24:47or whatever. And that's something new.
0:24:56 > 0:25:01We think of them today as incredibly touristy and over-hyped and whatnot.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03But at the time, they were forgotten.
0:25:03 > 0:25:04They were obscure,
0:25:04 > 0:25:06and the only people that went there were kind of,
0:25:06 > 0:25:09posh people with their own travel.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11And so they've been opened up to the masses,
0:25:11 > 0:25:14I guess, by the caravan, and by the car and all those things.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25Sometimes people say, "What's the biggest improvement in caravans?"
0:25:25 > 0:25:28And a lot of my caravan friends will tell you all sorts of things,
0:25:28 > 0:25:31you know, it was heaters, new cars, or whatever...
0:25:31 > 0:25:33Biggest improvement, biggest change was roads.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Because now you can get on a road
0:25:35 > 0:25:38and you can go pretty much anywhere you like. And it's easy.
0:25:38 > 0:25:43And OK, we all know the stories of caravans holding up the bypasses.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46But previously there hadn't been bypasses.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49And the biggest improvement, the biggest thing that contributed
0:25:49 > 0:25:52to people getting out and enjoying themselves in caravans
0:25:52 > 0:25:55was the ability to take a bit of Tarmac from their house
0:25:55 > 0:25:57to where they wanted to go.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02That's the biggest improvement,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05by far more important than anything anyone did, ever,
0:26:05 > 0:26:09in a caravan factory or in a design office for making caravans.
0:26:09 > 0:26:15# Now the evening passes by
0:26:16 > 0:26:20# Drains the colour from the sky
0:26:21 > 0:26:25# A lamp is lit
0:26:25 > 0:26:28# A candle glows
0:26:28 > 0:26:33# In a window high... #
0:26:35 > 0:26:37With their "have car, will travel"
0:26:37 > 0:26:40mentality and the expanding road network
0:26:40 > 0:26:43making British holiday-makers more mobile than ever before,
0:26:43 > 0:26:47the opportunity to hitch up and head off into the countryside
0:26:47 > 0:26:52was making caravanning an increasingly popular pastime.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56# Say the prayers you've said before... #
0:26:56 > 0:27:02To be able to drive into the depths of the countryside,
0:27:02 > 0:27:05I had so many surprises that there's so much history
0:27:05 > 0:27:10and beauty and lovely old country houses.
0:27:10 > 0:27:15# When
0:27:15 > 0:27:17# The morning brings the light
0:27:21 > 0:27:25# Oh, the morning brings the light... #
0:27:26 > 0:27:31And of course, we'd been chained to our houses and our areas
0:27:31 > 0:27:35for so many years, and had not been able to get out
0:27:35 > 0:27:39beyond a few miles, because it was restricted.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43It was just sort of a miraculous time to be alive,
0:27:43 > 0:27:49that you could suddenly realise that you could go away and stay.
0:27:49 > 0:27:54# Selling matches in the day
0:27:55 > 0:27:59# So there'd be a place to stay
0:28:01 > 0:28:05# A whistling tin...#
0:28:05 > 0:28:10To be able to get away, to get away on your own, it was unbelievable.
0:28:14 > 0:28:15It was quiet.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Because in those days you could hear the noise of factories,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21and there wasn't quite so much traffic as there is now, obviously.
0:28:21 > 0:28:27# The morning brings the light...#
0:28:27 > 0:28:30I remember on one occasion, we were going over some...
0:28:30 > 0:28:33some of the mountains, I'm awful at remembering names.
0:28:33 > 0:28:40And we stopped in a little pull-in, to listen, well, to admire the view.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42And we could hear the silence.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59The beauty of caravanning is,
0:28:59 > 0:29:03it allows you to go where you want to, when you want to.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10We're totally independent, we've got our own space.
0:29:10 > 0:29:15When the kids were young, we went rallying,
0:29:15 > 0:29:18and they would have another circle of friends, on a rally field,
0:29:18 > 0:29:20that they didn't have at school.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24They would be out all day enjoying themselves,
0:29:24 > 0:29:26coming back only to eat, no problems.
0:29:26 > 0:29:28It is the freedom...
0:29:30 > 0:29:32..to do it at a reasonable cost.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41For some people, the attraction of a touring caravan
0:29:41 > 0:29:46was the ability to escape to secluded parts of the countryside.
0:29:46 > 0:29:51But for others, caravan rallies provided the chance to meet up
0:29:51 > 0:29:53with fellow enthusiasts.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56Such rallies, and the memories they evoke
0:29:56 > 0:29:59are still the main appeal of caravanning
0:29:59 > 0:30:02for people like Rob Carthew from Solihull.
0:30:03 > 0:30:08Well, I love caravanning because to me, it's just like
0:30:08 > 0:30:10going back to my childhood days,
0:30:10 > 0:30:12when I used to go on caravan holidays.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15And basically to buy something that's old,
0:30:15 > 0:30:19you actually do things like you did then, you know.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23And I still do it the same now as what I did 40 years ago,
0:30:23 > 0:30:24really, to be honest.
0:30:24 > 0:30:29You know, so, yeah. But I love it, I can't get enough of it, really,
0:30:29 > 0:30:32there's not enough days or weekends in the year
0:30:32 > 0:30:34to be able to do it, you know.
0:30:36 > 0:30:42Well, we're looking at a 1969 Fisher Holivan 9ft van.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46We purchased this van about three years ago for the price of £50.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54Right, as you can see, it's a very, very little basic little van.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57But it takes myself, my wife,
0:30:57 > 0:31:01and we've also got two border collies with us this weekend.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03And we all manage to get in here.
0:31:03 > 0:31:05It's got two single bunks...
0:31:05 > 0:31:09'I love caravans. I love the freedom of it.'
0:31:09 > 0:31:12You can extend the bed then...
0:31:12 > 0:31:16'You're in a different part of the country each weekend,'
0:31:16 > 0:31:19so your picture window when you look out your window
0:31:19 > 0:31:22is totally different from one week to the next.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24We've got a sink, draining board,
0:31:24 > 0:31:28we've got the old-fashioned sort of, water pump here.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31'The scenery does change every weekend for you.'
0:31:31 > 0:31:36Your back garden's not the same - every weekend it's different.
0:31:36 > 0:31:38I've been everywhere in it.
0:31:38 > 0:31:43I... I go as far south as the Dorset Steam Fair.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47We've been everywhere - Shropshire, Wales, er...
0:31:47 > 0:31:51We were in Wiltshire last weekend - and we get great fun,
0:31:51 > 0:31:56hours and hours of fun and pleasure, and all it cost us was £50!
0:32:01 > 0:32:04Well, I personally think we've got a wonderful country,
0:32:04 > 0:32:07the countryside to me is wonderful.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11'And over this last sort of 20 years,'
0:32:11 > 0:32:14I've seen more of it in the last 20 years
0:32:14 > 0:32:16than I did in the previous years.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20And I sort of appreciate it more and more every time I see it.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23Because in this country, you go round a bend,
0:32:23 > 0:32:28and every corner that you go round, it's a different scenery.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34With the growing appeal and affordability of caravanning,
0:32:34 > 0:32:37by the 1960s, several British manufacturers
0:32:37 > 0:32:40were at the forefront of a booming industry.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49- NEWSREADER:- I suppose there's a bit of the gypsy in most of us,
0:32:49 > 0:32:50hence the caravan craze.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53The last ten years have seen a minor revolution.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56Another thing we learned at the Daily Mail Caravan Exhibition
0:32:56 > 0:32:59is that this country is the world's largest exporter.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01But leading the way among the British
0:33:01 > 0:33:03and international manufacturers
0:33:03 > 0:33:05was Caravans International,
0:33:05 > 0:33:09the company set up by the irrepressible Sam Alper.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13Designed for towing by medium-sized family cars,
0:33:13 > 0:33:17the Sprite Major is a four or five berth caravan costing under £400.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20There were loads of caravan manufacturers,
0:33:20 > 0:33:25but they were turning out a few hundred vans a year if that.
0:33:25 > 0:33:27Whereas Sprite was turning out thousands.
0:33:32 > 0:33:33At that time,
0:33:33 > 0:33:38somebody worked out that a Sprite was completed every four minutes.
0:33:45 > 0:33:49We were bigger in finance terms, in factories,
0:33:49 > 0:33:53then any other caravan operation in the world.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56Sam Alper not only makes caravans, he is an enthusiast,
0:33:56 > 0:34:00and a veteran of many previous record attempts.
0:34:03 > 0:34:08Always the shrewd publicist, Sam continued to use high-profile stunts
0:34:08 > 0:34:10to promote his caravan business.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14He's in Granada, for the first ever attempt
0:34:14 > 0:34:17to tow a caravan over Europe's highest road,
0:34:17 > 0:34:19the Pico de Veleta.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21He's well above the clouds now.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31For Sam, the key to selling his caravans
0:34:31 > 0:34:35was to present them not only as strong and durable,
0:34:35 > 0:34:36but as an essential part of a stylish
0:34:36 > 0:34:39and exciting family lifestyle.
0:34:42 > 0:34:44To help him sell this image,
0:34:44 > 0:34:48Sam hand-picked a talented young designer called Reg Dean.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54Over the next 30 years, Reg was to help transform
0:34:54 > 0:34:57the look and layout of the modern caravan.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05I wouldn't have known anything whatsoever,
0:35:05 > 0:35:06I'd never been into a caravan,
0:35:06 > 0:35:11a touring caravan, or a caravan holiday home.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14I was just looking for furniture. And I managed to bring all sorts of
0:35:14 > 0:35:19proper furniture and furnishings into the caravan industry.
0:35:19 > 0:35:21Which Sam seemed to appreciate very much.
0:35:24 > 0:35:28I didn't follow caravan furniture, I followed domestic furniture.
0:35:28 > 0:35:32A lot of the caravan manufacturers would look at the other caravans.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34Sam never sent me to caravan shows,
0:35:34 > 0:35:39he sent me to the Motor Show, furniture shows, all over the place.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42You learn more by seeing things like that, don't you?
0:35:42 > 0:35:44You learn a lot more like that,
0:35:44 > 0:35:46by seeing which way fashions are going,
0:35:46 > 0:35:49and the furniture's going, and things like that.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55Just 300ft below the summit, but well above 10,000ft,
0:35:55 > 0:35:58to become the highest caravan in Europe...
0:35:58 > 0:36:01With a booming business that was never short of publicity,
0:36:01 > 0:36:05and that had taken over other leading British manufacturers,
0:36:05 > 0:36:06such as Eccles and Bluebird,
0:36:06 > 0:36:10by the mid-1960s, Sam Alper had every reason
0:36:10 > 0:36:15to consider himself and his Sprite on top of the world.
0:36:15 > 0:36:20..the caravan has averaged over 30 miles an hour from start to finish.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29The success of the touring caravan
0:36:29 > 0:36:32was to bring with it an unwelcome side-effect.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36With so many caravans on British roads, it was no longer practical
0:36:36 > 0:36:39for enthusiasts to pull up and spend the night
0:36:39 > 0:36:41at whatever beauty spot took their fancy.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45And in the early 1960s,
0:36:45 > 0:36:49new legislation forced them to stay in regulated sites.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52For people like Dorrie Van Lachterop,
0:36:52 > 0:36:56one of the initial attractions of caravanning had been taken away.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02Oh, that's funny.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06It's the kind of site that I like NOW...
0:37:06 > 0:37:08I used to like it where it was wild.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11Years ago, when I first started, you could pull in anywhere,
0:37:11 > 0:37:15in the mountains or on a riverbank or a loch. But you can't do that now.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17There are so many caravans.
0:37:17 > 0:37:22And so I... I like it fairly quiet, this is a nice site.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24Out of the way, Annabel.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30Well, I have to settle myself in.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33And then, people usually say hello to begin with.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37It's difficult if you're a loner, and there are... They're all couples.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40But I'm normally with people who are also on their own. And that's great.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42Normally, the kettle goes on somewhere!
0:37:44 > 0:37:48When Dorrie started caravanning in the mid-1950s,
0:37:48 > 0:37:52it was the ideal holiday for her and her husband Henry,
0:37:52 > 0:37:54and their two young children.
0:37:54 > 0:37:59But in 1962, a family tragedy was to bring these holidays to an end.
0:38:01 > 0:38:06Well, my husband died quite suddenly, his father died on the Saturday
0:38:06 > 0:38:09and he died on the Monday. It was like that.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16I didn't think I'd be able to cope with the car, but I did.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18I got a job, and we didn't owe any money,
0:38:18 > 0:38:21which was a great thing. It was all ours.
0:38:25 > 0:38:31Of course, we'd always done it, and we went from week to week,
0:38:31 > 0:38:32and we just kept on.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34Cos the children, they'd got all their friends,
0:38:34 > 0:38:38my daughter had got all her friends, I'd got my friends,
0:38:38 > 0:38:40the dog had got her friends,
0:38:40 > 0:38:44and the cat had got her... We used to take the cat!
0:38:47 > 0:38:49They all supported me afterwards.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51And if I looked a bit glum,
0:38:51 > 0:38:55which was pretty often, somebody would shout, "Coffee's on!"
0:38:55 > 0:38:58And I'd got various friends, I could have a weep on their shoulders
0:38:58 > 0:39:01and then we'd have a good laugh, you know, that kind of thing.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05It was the same with the children, they'd got their own friends.
0:39:05 > 0:39:09And it was a great help, really.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13It gave us something else to try and think about, you know.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15And... And we coped.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21After her husband's death at the age of 46,
0:39:21 > 0:39:26Dorrie decided not only to continue caravanning with her children,
0:39:26 > 0:39:29but to take them on new adventures further afield.
0:39:31 > 0:39:33My mother cried when we went the first time
0:39:33 > 0:39:36because she thought we'd never come back!
0:39:37 > 0:39:42It was unusual for people to go abroad,
0:39:42 > 0:39:45let alone take a car and caravan.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47But it really was an adventure.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53One of Dorrie's caravan trips abroad with her children
0:39:53 > 0:39:55was to turn into a memorable holiday in France.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02We did quite a bit of touring round there, some of the little towns,
0:40:02 > 0:40:04the little villages and that.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07And we thought, "Well, we've never been to Paris."
0:40:11 > 0:40:16And we were doing very well, but we ran into the most awful storm.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18So we were getting later and later.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22And when we got into Paris,
0:40:22 > 0:40:27I'm driving, we've got the Land Rover, and I'm driving along...
0:40:27 > 0:40:30And I was quite worried, because I thought, where do we stop?
0:40:30 > 0:40:33And I saw two gendarmes and got out,
0:40:33 > 0:40:36and my French is ridiculously school French,
0:40:36 > 0:40:38but I asked them, you know, "Camping Bois de Boulogne?"
0:40:38 > 0:40:40And they said, "Toute a droite."
0:40:42 > 0:40:46Turn right. Well, it isn't, is it? It's straight on.
0:40:52 > 0:40:54Bottom of the Champs-Elysees,
0:40:54 > 0:40:56and we go up, there are about eight rows of traffic,
0:40:56 > 0:41:02and I'm sort of sitting there, and we come to the Arc de Triomphe.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04So I've got to go round the wrong way, as well.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07I'm driving on the wrong side of the road all the way.
0:41:07 > 0:41:08And we went round,
0:41:08 > 0:41:13and I made my journey tighter and tighter so I got on the pavement.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15And we pulled into the best boulevard we could.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21With the permission of a sympathetic gendarme,
0:41:21 > 0:41:24Dorrie and her children pulled up at the side of the road
0:41:24 > 0:41:27and prepared to bed down for the night,
0:41:27 > 0:41:29turning the very heart of Paris
0:41:29 > 0:41:31into their exclusive and private caravan site.
0:41:34 > 0:41:35It was fantastic.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38I don't know anyone else who's ever spent the night
0:41:38 > 0:41:42almost under the Arc de Triomphe!
0:41:42 > 0:41:45Free, as well, we didn't have to pay!
0:41:46 > 0:41:49It really was, it was a wonderful trip.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53- NEWSREADER:- A maritime nation, the British.
0:41:53 > 0:41:55And proud of it.
0:41:55 > 0:41:56FOGHORN BLASTS
0:41:56 > 0:41:58Just as it was for Dorrie,
0:41:58 > 0:42:01during the 1960s, Europe was the new frontier
0:42:01 > 0:42:03for those British caravanners
0:42:03 > 0:42:07who were eager to take on fresh challenges and experiences.
0:42:10 > 0:42:13Well, these adventurous caravanners,
0:42:13 > 0:42:15they'd been adventurous in getting their car,
0:42:15 > 0:42:17even more so in getting a caravan,
0:42:17 > 0:42:19they'd toured around England, been to places
0:42:19 > 0:42:22that people had never been, Scotland and...
0:42:22 > 0:42:24Or if they lived in Scotland, they'd been to England.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27Then they started to think they might go abroad!
0:42:29 > 0:42:31There's a wonderful story,
0:42:31 > 0:42:35the Camping and Caravanning Club organised a temporary campsite
0:42:35 > 0:42:38outside a little tiny fishing village in Spain in the '50s.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42And people flocked there, absolutely wonderful.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44You may have heard of it, it's called Torremolinos!
0:42:44 > 0:42:46And that was the basis -
0:42:46 > 0:42:50British people going there was the basis of this huge industry.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54And they were caravanners. Because there were no hotels then.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56if you wanted a decent bed, you had to take it with you.
0:42:56 > 0:42:58# Mind how you go
0:42:58 > 0:43:03# Though going is your fancy and your right...#
0:43:03 > 0:43:07Although they may have taken some of their home comforts with them,
0:43:07 > 0:43:11setting off for Europe was not an easy option for British caravanners.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13These were demanding holidays,
0:43:13 > 0:43:17and to get to even the most accessible and popular destinations
0:43:17 > 0:43:21meant a long and time-consuming journey.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28My parents bought their first caravan shortly after I was born,
0:43:28 > 0:43:30so the mid-'60s, a Sprite 400.
0:43:30 > 0:43:35And they took it off, first holiday, and it was all the way down to Italy.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38I think it's fantastic,
0:43:38 > 0:43:40I really admire them, cos it was quite an adventure.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43You didn't have credit cards in those days,
0:43:43 > 0:43:45you had to take currency with you,
0:43:45 > 0:43:47or change currency in each country you went to,
0:43:47 > 0:43:49and that's not such a long time ago.
0:43:49 > 0:43:51So it involved a lot of planning,
0:43:51 > 0:43:53it wasn't just an easy thing to pick up and go.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55They had a real sense of adventure to do that.
0:43:55 > 0:43:58# Mind how you go
0:43:58 > 0:44:03# Though going turns a fresh page for your eyes
0:44:03 > 0:44:05# Tread like a cat
0:44:05 > 0:44:09# For they're fools to take advantage of the wise
0:44:09 > 0:44:11# Who would patronise... #
0:44:11 > 0:44:18We've got our space, our home, on a continental site, right?
0:44:18 > 0:44:22But we're eating their food, we're seeing their countryside,
0:44:22 > 0:44:25we're enjoying their sunshine...!
0:44:25 > 0:44:28# ..When I see your face again... #
0:44:30 > 0:44:33You've got a lot less traffic to worry about.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36But at the end of each day, you come back to your home.
0:44:36 > 0:44:38And that's the beauty of it.
0:44:38 > 0:44:43I mean, it sounds ridiculous, but to be able to go into that caravan
0:44:43 > 0:44:49and make a cup of tea in my teapot, with my own tea,
0:44:49 > 0:44:52it just made everything possible.
0:44:52 > 0:44:54# Mind how you go
0:44:54 > 0:44:59# Though going is your fancy and your right
0:44:59 > 0:45:00# Tread like a cat... #
0:45:00 > 0:45:04You see how other people live, which is always fascinating.
0:45:04 > 0:45:07And not to just go into the big tourist towns,
0:45:07 > 0:45:09or the tourist places,
0:45:09 > 0:45:12but to go and see what life is really like.
0:45:12 > 0:45:17# And I fear I will not know you... #
0:45:17 > 0:45:21For some people, these adventurous and ambitious holidays
0:45:21 > 0:45:23spent touring Europe in a caravan
0:45:23 > 0:45:26were to have a positive and lasting legacy.
0:45:26 > 0:45:31# ..When I see your face again... #
0:45:33 > 0:45:36I guess exploring, seeing all these fantastic places,
0:45:36 > 0:45:39and getting that continental experience, really.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42I think that my knowledge of the rest of Europe is much wider
0:45:42 > 0:45:43now than a lot of people I meet,
0:45:43 > 0:45:47and it's down to those... Just that confidence, I would get up tomorrow
0:45:47 > 0:45:51and drive to anywhere in Europe without thinking about it twice,
0:45:51 > 0:45:52just cos I've been there,
0:45:52 > 0:45:55and it seems like a perfectly natural thing to do.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58Getting on a plane would be much more alien, really!
0:46:00 > 0:46:05By the 1970s, the face of British caravanning was beginning to change.
0:46:07 > 0:46:08- NEWSREADER:- Each year,
0:46:08 > 0:46:11the Caravan and Camping Holiday Show at Earls Court
0:46:11 > 0:46:12has been getting bigger.
0:46:12 > 0:46:16And the effects are plain to see on every road in Britain,
0:46:16 > 0:46:17from spring to autumn.
0:46:17 > 0:46:19While the more adventurous caravanners
0:46:19 > 0:46:21were off exploring Europe,
0:46:21 > 0:46:25many of us were choosing to spend their holidays not only in Britain,
0:46:25 > 0:46:28but at the same place every year.
0:46:28 > 0:46:33Now sales of static caravans were on the move.
0:46:33 > 0:46:37I think the dominant image that's associated with caravans
0:46:37 > 0:46:41shifted from being dominated by the touring caravan
0:46:41 > 0:46:45to being dominated by the static caravan and the caravan sites.
0:46:45 > 0:46:47What's available on a site varies alarmingly,
0:46:47 > 0:46:50from almost nothing to just about everything...
0:46:50 > 0:46:53I think in the '50s, when you said "caravan",
0:46:53 > 0:46:56people thought about touring on the open road.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00By the '70s, when you talk about caravan, people are talking about
0:47:00 > 0:47:05serried ranks of static caravans that will never move.
0:47:05 > 0:47:07A site like this of just over 40 acres
0:47:07 > 0:47:10has got on it some 280 static caravans
0:47:10 > 0:47:14and just over 280 touring caravans as well.
0:47:14 > 0:47:15And as you can see,
0:47:15 > 0:47:20you've still got a huge amount of space between those caravans.
0:47:20 > 0:47:23I think there develops a very strong middle-class attitude
0:47:23 > 0:47:27of snobbery towards static caravans.
0:47:27 > 0:47:32I suspect that they're seen in some circles as not proper caravanners,
0:47:32 > 0:47:35because they're not touring around, they're not exploring,
0:47:35 > 0:47:38they're just recreating the old seaside holiday, in a way,
0:47:38 > 0:47:43particularly as the caravan sites develop their own clubhouses
0:47:43 > 0:47:45and their own entertainments,
0:47:45 > 0:47:49and become like mini resorts, and people just stay put.
0:47:49 > 0:47:53An evening in the clubhouse, of which everyone is a member...
0:47:53 > 0:47:57And the people who criticise them can't imagine
0:47:57 > 0:48:00what the delights might be of a holiday in such a place.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03..where the young can shake whatever they have to shake
0:48:03 > 0:48:06and the more staid can find their own amusement elsewhere.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09So it's a lack of empathy as well, I think.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14The club is fortunately placed well away from the caravans.
0:48:17 > 0:48:21With caravan parks beginning to resemble vast holiday camps,
0:48:21 > 0:48:25the image of caravanning was no longer a romantic one,
0:48:25 > 0:48:28of independence and freedom of the open road.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32And for those holiday-makers who still wanted to travel abroad,
0:48:32 > 0:48:34a cheap, cheerful and off-the-shelf alternative
0:48:34 > 0:48:37to the caravan was readily available.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43Now, the package holiday was flying high,
0:48:43 > 0:48:45and taking British holiday-makers
0:48:45 > 0:48:49to sunny Spain in three hours, rather than three days.
0:48:51 > 0:48:55I think what you get in the '70s is, with the explosion of package tours
0:48:55 > 0:49:00to Spain particularly, but also to France, Italy and whatnot,
0:49:00 > 0:49:02for a comparably cheap sum,
0:49:02 > 0:49:05people can go and be guaranteed good weather.
0:49:13 > 0:49:17They can also go to these resorts and they don't have to eat foreign food,
0:49:17 > 0:49:20they don't have to speak to foreigners...!
0:49:23 > 0:49:26That's one reason why the caravan declines,
0:49:26 > 0:49:28it can't compete in terms of the weather.
0:49:28 > 0:49:31I also think in the '70s, there's an element of...
0:49:31 > 0:49:33I mean, Britain is not in a good state in the '70s,
0:49:33 > 0:49:35these are pretty miserable times,
0:49:35 > 0:49:38and I think people just want to get away.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40They want to leave the strikes
0:49:40 > 0:49:44and the kind of political turmoil and the terrorism
0:49:44 > 0:49:48and the kind of constant gloom and soul-searching,
0:49:48 > 0:49:52they want to get away from all that and go abroad and forget about it.
0:49:53 > 0:49:57With the economic gloom and the rise of the package holiday,
0:49:57 > 0:50:01these were hard times for Britain's caravan industry.
0:50:01 > 0:50:03And no-one was immune.
0:50:04 > 0:50:09Even the company that dominated the British market for over 30 years,
0:50:09 > 0:50:14Sam Alper's Caravans International, was in serious difficulties.
0:50:21 > 0:50:23Basically, I think we...
0:50:23 > 0:50:25The group borrowed too much money.
0:50:25 > 0:50:30Because acquisition was mainly by borrowing money,
0:50:30 > 0:50:34buying a factory, or buying a brand, a company.
0:50:35 > 0:50:37And of course...
0:50:39 > 0:50:41..money doesn't come cheap.
0:50:47 > 0:50:51And there came a point where the chopper came down.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59And that was a chilling thing.
0:50:59 > 0:51:02When the receivers walked in.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05Pfff... Just before Christmas.
0:51:10 > 0:51:14We weren't the only company to get into trouble.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17But we were in bigger trouble because we were a bigger company.
0:51:20 > 0:51:26And...our nearest UK competitors laughed like hell, you see.
0:51:26 > 0:51:28But some of them went down in the end.
0:51:29 > 0:51:34The gates to Sam's factory closed for good in December 1982.
0:51:34 > 0:51:39It was the end of the line for the company that once produced
0:51:39 > 0:51:43more caravans than any other manufacturer in the world.
0:51:46 > 0:51:49It was a bad thing not just for CI, but for the industry as a whole,
0:51:49 > 0:51:51because people lost confidence.
0:51:51 > 0:51:55CI was seen as a major, major force, which it obviously was.
0:51:55 > 0:51:57But for it to go crashing down as it did
0:51:57 > 0:52:01was basically very bad for the industry as a whole.
0:52:01 > 0:52:05And Sam unfortunately couldn't do anything about it,
0:52:05 > 0:52:08and was left to walk away
0:52:08 > 0:52:13and leave his empire in tatters. Simple as that.
0:52:22 > 0:52:24Actually, Sam had a great sense of humour
0:52:24 > 0:52:28and he really felt work should be enjoyable.
0:52:28 > 0:52:33Everybody respected him very much, whoever worked for him,
0:52:33 > 0:52:37he was as happy on the shop floor as he was in the boardroom.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40Didn't mind getting his hands dirty.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45'He did say to me once actually,
0:52:45 > 0:52:48'he probably should have got out earlier.'
0:52:48 > 0:52:51But then, when things started going wrong,
0:52:51 > 0:52:53he couldn't jump ship. He was there till the last.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56You know, I think he felt slightly responsible,
0:52:56 > 0:52:58cos there was over-production
0:52:58 > 0:53:01and they just could not contract quickly enough.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06After the collapse of his business, Sam left the caravan industry
0:53:06 > 0:53:13and retreated to his country estate, Chilford Hall in Cambridgeshire.
0:53:13 > 0:53:17Over the next 20 years, he put much of his energy
0:53:17 > 0:53:20into cultivating his own vineyard,
0:53:20 > 0:53:24but died in October 2002, aged 78.
0:53:24 > 0:53:29Sam is actually buried in the garden, down there.
0:53:29 > 0:53:30And you know, it just seems,
0:53:30 > 0:53:33so much of his energies were put into Chilford,
0:53:33 > 0:53:36it seems right that he should be buried here.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39From his first caravan,
0:53:39 > 0:53:43made in 1948, Sam Alper had gone on to create
0:53:43 > 0:53:45an international business empire.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48But longer-lasting than the business itself
0:53:48 > 0:53:52was Sam's impact on the caravan industry as a whole.
0:53:54 > 0:53:55I think all...
0:53:55 > 0:54:00It was an amazingly friendly industry, the caravan industry.
0:54:00 > 0:54:05So even different manufacturers got on very well together.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08At the caravan conventions and things,
0:54:08 > 0:54:11everybody got on very, very well socially.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14And I think with Sam putting the Sprite on the map,
0:54:14 > 0:54:18it also helped other caravan manufacturers,
0:54:18 > 0:54:20and I think they all felt they owed...
0:54:20 > 0:54:23The industry owed a great deal to him.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28- PA:- 'The show is now open.'
0:54:30 > 0:54:33Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36Thank you all very much for coming along to the opening day
0:54:36 > 0:54:39of International Caravan and Motor Home 2008...
0:54:39 > 0:54:43Having experienced decline in the 1970s and '80s,
0:54:43 > 0:54:47today, caravanning is enjoying a new lease of life.
0:54:47 > 0:54:49APPLAUSE
0:54:49 > 0:54:54Here at the biggest indoor caravan and motor home show in the UK,
0:54:54 > 0:54:59almost 70,000 visitors will come through the doors in just six days,
0:54:59 > 0:55:01eager to discover the latest caravans
0:55:01 > 0:55:04and their state-of-the-art appliances.
0:55:04 > 0:55:09Caravans that are a far cry from those that first took to the road.
0:55:13 > 0:55:17Oh, the first one was a box on wheels, with nothing.
0:55:17 > 0:55:21This caravan you're in now - and all modern caravans -
0:55:21 > 0:55:26double-glazed, insulated, cookers, they're coming with microwaves now,
0:55:26 > 0:55:29they've got mains electricity, they've got TV points.
0:55:29 > 0:55:34They've got showers, they've got flushing toilets.
0:55:34 > 0:55:36They've got everything in them.
0:55:36 > 0:55:39And it is a home-from-home, including the kitchen sink.
0:55:41 > 0:55:43But for some early enthusiasts,
0:55:43 > 0:55:47caravanning today, with all its comforts and conveniences,
0:55:47 > 0:55:50has lost some of its magic.
0:55:50 > 0:55:54For them, the sense of adventure that caravanning once offered
0:55:54 > 0:55:56has been eroded for good.
0:56:00 > 0:56:04I think the kind of caravanning that we had and that I enjoy,
0:56:04 > 0:56:07I think that's probably had it.
0:56:08 > 0:56:12Life is different altogether, it's moved so quickly.
0:56:12 > 0:56:17Um... I don't know whether people enjoy the same things.
0:56:21 > 0:56:26I've noticed on a caravan site now, you can bet your bottom dollar that,
0:56:26 > 0:56:31say 7 o'clock, everyone, instead of being out talking,
0:56:31 > 0:56:34they're all in with their own television.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37It's a different type altogether, somehow.
0:56:41 > 0:56:45But although the nature of caravanning may have changed
0:56:45 > 0:56:46over the years,
0:56:46 > 0:56:48for some of its British pioneers,
0:56:48 > 0:56:51the love affair continues to this day.
0:56:52 > 0:56:58Their cherished caravans are much more than homes on wheels.
0:57:00 > 0:57:07The thing that makes caravanning so lovely is that it opened my mind
0:57:07 > 0:57:13to so many different worlds, and I met a lot of interesting people...
0:57:14 > 0:57:21..and it took me to see parts of England that I would never have seen.
0:57:21 > 0:57:24It's absolutely heavenly.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27I mean, there's nothing to compare with caravanning.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34Oh, it's been my salvation, I think.
0:57:36 > 0:57:41I'm comfortable, I'm relaxed, I feel safe - which is strange, really.
0:57:41 > 0:57:48Um...it's peaceful, it's quiet... I love it.
0:57:48 > 0:57:49Obviously!
0:58:09 > 0:58:13Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:13 > 0:58:16E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk